There is now an entire field of psychology dedicated to this very subject. It is called Positive Psychology. Its principle is relatively simple- being happy is the best medicine. So, what do you do to make yourself happy? You could find a therapist trained in the field of positive psychology, or you could apply a principle of common sense- if it makes you happy, do more of it!
That is how I feel about many things I do in my life. They make me happy. I do things that make me feel happy, and I don't do things that don't make me feel happy. Sometimes, the decisions I make are very simple. Today, for example, running two miles was not something that I was feeling positive about (I was resenting the idea). So instead, I walked. Walking, felt managable to me today, it still has a poistive impact on my health (and my mood!), and it wasn't as negative feeling to me as the thought of running. Keep in mind, I love to run. I just ran 3 miles on Sunday. I loved every step. Today, I didn't love it. So, I didn't do it.
If you spend more time doing what makes you happy, you will be happy. See what I mean about the common sense part?
I have a friend that called me recently and explained that she was feeling "out of sorts". She was feeling anxious, maybe a bit sad, but she couldn't put her finger on why. In talking, we discussed that she did something different that morning. She had spent the evening at a hotel for work, and had the luxury of watching the morning news (instead of cartoons!). When I asked her what she saw on the news, she told of a feature in which they interviewed several families who had lost their homes to foreclosure. She went on to wonder out loud about the security of her job, her spouses job and to question some plans she had made to make some home improvements. What was my advice to her? Don't watch the news.
Really, if it doesn't make you happy, just don't do it. There is no need to over analyze your feelings or where they stem from or what they mean about you, sometimes (very often) things are simply not that deep. Living in the present, and staying focused on the here and now, means that you hold the power to create your own happiness.
Speaking of doing what makes me happy- if you've read my blog at all, you know scrapbooking makes me happy. In creating my family scrapbooks, I feel very passionately about having excellent photographs. I have been wanting an upgrade in my camera for months. I have been unable to capture excellent shots of my children in sports. They would come out blurry. Well, blur no more! I got a new camera last week, and have been trying it out. Here is one of my better shots from this week:
This made me HAPPY. I am very excited to take more photos, and even more excited to scrapbook them. I'll be sure to post some for you to see when I have them done.
"Make it a great day," I heard someone say today. That is a subtle, yet impressive statement. Not "have a great day", but MAKE it a great day. It's yours to experience, so make it good.
Blogging a bright idea,
Holly
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